Warts

[Lasserade]

Do any of you have any treatments for (bovine) warts.

None of my cows came with (obvious) warts, they occurred in a rash about 18 months ago on all but my oldest cow (aged 15).
The vet suggested that biting insects bring it in, and we have plenty of those, as I can attest. (They eat me when I sit down to milk!) He suggested Magnesium salts (Epsom salts) may have some reducing effect. I have given them some in their feed in the winter but I do not feed concentrates routinely (except to those I milk) so most do not get enough to be really effective.

The warts occur mainly on the udders of mothers and faces of calves!
Is there anything I can do to minimize the spread or treat the afflicted?

Chrissie Hauxwell (GreenMan Dexters, France)
PS (The lady without any is a Swiss Brown cow who was the first to arrive on the farm, the rest are Dexters or Dexter cross SB.)

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Warts in cattle are largely due to papilloma viruses, there are (I think) about 7 different varieties. The ones on the teats are probably different from those on the calves faces. I suspect the teat ones often take longer to disappear than the face or body ones, but in the end they are all self limiting. Years ago we used to take samples off a beast, send it to a laboratory, and they would make an Autogenous Vaccine, by treating the material to kill the virus but still retain enough structure to stimulate immunity. Sadly due to modern rules and regulations on medication of food producing animals we cannot get this done. Maybe you can in France. It does speed up the disappearance, but do not worry they will go without any specific treatment. Now and then if the warts are very large or convoluted there can be problem with secondary infection and antibiotic spray or injections may help control that. But for the most part just be patient. It can be a nuisance if you want to show or sell them. I don't know if animals in a herd with close contact with one another need flies to spread it.

Once each animal has had a particular type it is usually immune for life.
The cow with none may well have had them in past or even have carried the virus to the others.

Duncan

[Lasserade]

Thanks Duncan,
Its good to know that they are self limiting.
Interesting that there was a treatment at one time.
I think the general opinion here (in France) is they are not important enough to spend money on!
The ones on the teats are the worst as they rub as the calves suck, and leave raw patches.
Chrissie Hauxwell (GreenMan Dexters) France